National Dinosaur Museum — Attraction in District of Gungahlin

🦖 Thoroughly Enjoyable & Educational: A Must-Visit for Dino Enthusiasts! Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)

As a family of four (with kids aged 3and 6), we spent a fantastic afternoon at the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra. Here’s why it exceeded our expectations:

🌿 Highlights: Immersive Exhibits: Life-Sized Dinosaurs: The outdoor Dinosaur Garden (free to access!) features towering T. rex models and photo ops that thrilled the kids . Animatronics & Fossils: Indoors, 12+ animatronic dinosaurs (blinking, roaring!) and 300+ fossils—including rare skeletons—brought prehistory to life. The 20m T. rex was a showstopper! . Chronological Journey: The exhibits smartly trace evolution from ancient marine life to ice-age mammals, with clear info panels .

Kid-Friendly Activities: Scavenger Hunts: Age-specific trails kept our kids engaged. Completing them earned a certificate with a real tiny fossil—a brilliant touch! . Interactive Zones: Downstairs, they loved the fossil puzzles, coloring stations, and climbing into dinosaur eggs .

Educational Value: Staff were passionate and knowledgeable—especially during our chat about whale evolution! . The gift shop dazzled with geodes, minerals, and affordable dino toys (we took home a volcanic rock!) .

Practical Perks: Affordable: Family ticket ($55 for 2 adults + 2 kids) felt fair for 2+ hours of fun . Accessibility: Wheelchair-friendly paths, lifts, and sensory considerations (e.g., quiet areas) . Free Parking: Plentiful spots outside .

⚠️ Minor Drawbacks: Size: Compact—ideal for 1.5–2 hours, but larger museums might offer more . Animatronics: Young kids (under 5) might find the moving/sounding dinosaurs scary . Facilities: No on-site café—pack snacks! Some exhibits needed minor repairs .

💎 Final Verdict: "Far better than expected!" as one reviewer said . Perfect for families, school groups, or anyone curious about Earth’s ancient past. Combine it with Gold Creek Village’s other attractions for a full day out. Tip: Book online to skip queues!

Plan Your Visit: Hours: Daily 10 AM–5 PM (last entry 4:30 PM) . Tickets: Adults $20, Kids (4–16) $12, Under 4 free . Location: 6 Gold Creek Rd, Nicholls .

Don’t Miss: The glittering crystal shop—even if you skip the...

This is a very informative and interesting place. It has plenty of parking. It is disable friendly. There is access of ramp for entry. It's good for both pram and wheel chairs. Outside there are lots of sculptures of different popular dino. As you get in there is a reception. You pay the entry. They give you a stamp. It is open 9 to 5. Down stairs souvenirs. They are mind blowing. You can buy different types of gems. Colorful stones. Detail posters for dinosaurs. Even for life evolution. There is a big mamooth of a kind also. There are preserved butterflies. And also spiders of different kinds. There are stone sculptures of amazing shapes and animals. Thare are salt stone sculptures. You can get fossils of different types. Actually a lot of them . Different prices. And offcourse toys both soft and hard. Colouring books and fact books. Document books I mentioned. Upstairs is the world of history of life. From the first life ever to now. Start from the left. You will see the Algie formation and fossil both from Australia and overseas. Formation of moon. Then one cell life. Then evolution. Best bit is there are fossils you can touch by hand. There are indications for that. Most of them are inside the glass. Life size sculptures. Moving dino. Sabertooth. Few reptiles too. Giant crocodile head. You can touch them. You can take photo or selphie unlimited. So you better in good mood. There are also crustations of different kinds. The toilet is In underground. There is lift and stairs. There are 3 big dino eggs. You can get inside and take photos. No drama. There are children activities in that place. Free to take home stuff. You should spend a good 2 hours to one day depending on your thirst. You should take your own food if you are after a day trip there. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Specially the little ones. Please put a like if you did like my description. Was it informative enough. Please let me know what else I could do to make it more...

Fabulous for kids and adults alike! This museum has a large volume of castings, rocks and genuine fossils. These are organised into epochs so that you can move through time and observe the evolution, or complete jumps, in life forms. There’s a separate section devoted to Australian megafauna. There are also some fascinating comparisons, e.g., dinosaur claw sizes, skeleton of modern-day equivalent. Some dinosaur mock-ups are mechanised—fun for the little kids. A ‘treasure hunt’ clipboard is also provided to keep the kids entertained. Meanwhile there’s plenty of really interesting content to read if you’re a bit older. The indoor exhibition is conveniently structured so that you wander around in a loop and don’t miss anything. Parents: the gift shop on the ground floor is vast and is the first thing that kids see as you enter (the exhibit is upstairs). There are plenty of soft toys and other items that appeal to kids and pester power was in force when we visited. The ‘ice cave’ is found on the ground floor and involves walking through the shop. There’s not much to see—just some woolly mammoths—so this can be skipped if you want to avoid the pestering! Also note that an adventure pass can be purchased online that includes access to this museum, Cockington Green, the aviary etc. (all located within minutes of...